


One Number Away

by SummerRaine14



Series: Future Bughead [10]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Drunk Jughead, F/M, Post 5x05, and drunk calls betty with a voicemail, and me only, jughead is just really sad, mentions of the b/a kiss, not too much but its mentioned, probably not what he did in canon but idc this is for me, this is about jugheads voicemail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:15:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29527677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerRaine14/pseuds/SummerRaine14
Summary: Jughead hadn't heard from Betty since they left Riverdale, but after she shows up at his book signing, a few drinks, and lots of self-loathing later, he calls her.-- OR --My take on -that- voicemail Jughead left for Betty
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Jessica/Jughead Jones (mentioned)
Series: Future Bughead [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1029023
Comments: 21
Kudos: 49





	One Number Away

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, fellow buggies, 
> 
> Welcome to my completely self-indulgent one-shot that I started writing immediately after it became canon that jughead called Betty the night of his book release. This takes place after my other one-shit "I'll Remember Your Words" where Betty showed up at Jug's book signing but can be read as a stand-alone. 
> 
> I am going to say there are mentions of that b/a kiss from 4x17, lots of Jughead drinking his feelings, and this doesn't have much of a happy ending. Read with caution or please exit if this ain't your type of thing!

Jughead arrived home from his booking signing alone, deciding after drinks with his new girlfriend, Jessica, that he wasn’t in the mood for company. 

She was friendly, smart, funny, and had the perfect amount of wit to understand his humor, but she wasn’t what Jughead needed. She wasn’t _her._

_Her_ being the blonde-haired girl who was scattered across the pages of his novel. Betty Cooper, the love of his life. 

His father told him it was foolish to believe that the only girl he’d loved was the love of his life, but he didn’t care. You don’t go through what they did, all of the tragedy and heartache, to not feel a love so intensely that it stays with you for the rest of your days. 

She was his muse, the one person who sparked his creative mind and inspired him to never give up on storytelling. Of course, what he’d written about them was less of a story and much more about real life. The words he’d imprinted in his mind, the way her palms felt against his cheeks. He’d written it down, changed their names, fabricated a few details, but it was still them. It was still her. 

It would always be her. 

By the time he’d stumbled from his kitchen to the bedroom, Jughead had already swallowed back nearly his entire bottle of whiskey. His dignity was long gone. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the contacts. 

_She’s probably changed her number by now,_ he thought to himself. _But screw it, now or never, right?_

The days of questioning himself were long over. They hadn’t spoken since they said their goodbyes on the front step of a house, which had in many ways become their home. Memories were made there, but all destroyed with the words she choked out to him in their bedroom. He couldn’t talk about it then. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he could talk about it now. But he just needed to _talk._ It didn’t matter what about because there was no rhyme or reason to his thoughts and feelings anymore. 

Maybe he would’ve felt different hours earlier into the day if Betty had approached him. But he knew she wouldn’t, and in fact, he hoped she wouldn’t. Of course, there had been that longing part of his heart in which he spent many nights dreaming for Betty standing by his side as he celebrated the book that wouldn’t have been possible without her. 

But mostly, he thought about her showing up and seeing how good he was doing without her. Though he never expected her to be there, and when the time came, his entire senses were thrown off. 

He was standing with Jessica when the all too familiar flash of blonde hair came into viewpoint. At first, he told himself it was just another blonde, but when her body turned to him, he knew it wasn’t anyone else. He looked over Jessica only a bit and saw the glimmer of her emerald eyes, but they had been filled with so much pain. _Good, you deserve to hurt._

But he didn’t mean it. Because it didn’t matter that Betty had ruined everything they once were, he never wanted her to feel any pain. And yet, that angry, broken voice in his head told him to hurt her more. He wrapped his arms around Jessica, kissing her deeply, and when they pulled apart, Betty was long gone. 

The rest of his day had been miserable, and he supposed he deserved it. In the process of trying to push Betty away without words, he’d used Jessica, and she had no idea. He put on a face for the event, smiling to fans and happily answering their questions about his story, but when the room was cleared, he was back in his head. 

FP and Jellybean said their goodbyes, having to get back home. Once again, Jughead was standing behind and watching his family leave him. Jessica was kind enough to indulge in his risky behaviors, somehow always putting up with his bullshit even when he could tell she was exhausted. So, they hit a bar up down the road from her apartment and drank until she said she needed to get home. He covered the cost of their cab, making sure she got home safe before going home himself, though not leaving his craving for alcohol at the bar. 

Jughead never used to drink. He’d despised alcohol because of his father. But in the last few years, what started as a few comfort drinks had become his crutch. The anchor he needed because _she_ wasn’t around to hold him afloat anymore. 

_You don’t need her anymore._ But Jughead knew that wasn’t true as he chugged down the rest of his bottle, his thumb hovering over her contact until he finally gave in. 

_Ring. Ring. Ring._ The sound echoed, telling him she was either asleep or ignoring him. He supposed he deserved that much. Even when he was angry, filled with a drunken rage, and wanting to scream at the top of his lungs, he believed he deserved this. 

_“You have reached the voicemail of Elizabeth Cooper. I cannot get to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, I will return your call as soon as possible”._

Jughead released a low scoff. _Her voice is so beautiful. No, you’re mad; stop thinking about the good parts of her._

He remained silent for a moment, trying to come up with the words as if his thoughts were taunting him. Did he even want to talk anymore? Did he want to yell? To scream and cry and tell her she was a monster? Or did he want to tell her what he’d wished he could for the rest of their lives? 

“Elizabeth Cooper...that sounds fancy,” He laughed to himself, a bitter, cold laugh. “I saw you today...at the signing. You looked as beautiful as you always have. Fuck, how desperate am I?” 

Jughead stood up, stumbling from his bed to his dresser and grabbing a half-empty beer from on top, swallowing every last drop. “I hate you some days, you know? When I think about what you did...you broke us, Betty. We were so _good,_ and you broke us.” Tears in his eyes, he used the sleeves of his shirt to wipe them away. “We talked about this day so many times. You were supposed to be there, beside me, not running away. Fuck, why did you even come? What did you expect would happen-” 

A loud beep cut him off, and Jughead groaned. He redialed, and that same voicemail played before he continued. 

“Every word I wrote was for you. For us. But you don’t care about that, do you? You stopped caring about us when you kissed _him._ Of all the people, it had to be him, didn’t it? I should’ve seen it coming. Nothing good ever lasts for me.” He chuckled again, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I wish you’d never shown up because here I am again, drunk and desperate, settling for scraps of us. You didn’t just break us, Betty Cooper. You broke me. Again and a-fucking-gain. I let you, so I guess that’s on me. But...it didn’t matter, because I loved you anyway. I still love y-”

The same loud beep came again, and this time he didn’t bother to call back.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, did you guys read it all? Don't hate me, the writers gave me sad Jughead and I couldn't help myself. 
> 
> Come find me on Tumblr @srainebuggie and let me know your thoughts (but please be kind!)


End file.
